“Was he gentle?” Taylor asked.
I nodded my head. “Very.”
Grace looked at Alex as they exchanged a smile.
“Was it … better than … you know, Zach?” Lauren asked.
Smirking, I asked, “Zach who?”
We all laughed. Maegan leaned closer to me. “Okay I have to ask, Lib. Is he packing?”
“Oh Jesus H. Christ! You did not, Maegan Atwood!” Grace shouted.
I threw my head back and laughed. Grace turned and looked at me and pointed. “Don’t answer that.” Holding up my hands I shook my head. I looked at Maegan and winked as she giggled and Grace yelled. “I saw that, Libby!”
Alex raised her hand. “Me next!” She cleared her throat. “Was he romantic?”
“Yes. Very.”
“Oh God, I can’t wait,” Taylor said with a sigh. Maegan turned and looked at Taylor.
“Ah, the hell you can wait baby sister.” Turning back to me, Maegan wiggled her eyebrows up and down. “How many times?”
I bit my lip. “Including this morning?”
Grace moaned and dropped back on the bed. Maegan nodded her head. I barely got the words out of my mouth. “Four times, not including, other stuff we did during the night.”
“Kill. Me. Now. Please!” Grace whined.
“Holy hell,” Alex and Maegan said as Lauren and Taylor both looked at me with horrified looks.
“How are you walking?” Lauren asked.
I looked away and chuckled. Letting out a breath, I turned back to the girls. Grace was sitting up smiling like a fool. She acted like it bothered her, but I knew she was happy for Luke and me.
I shook my head and looked down before looking back up. “I came so close to giving up, but I honestly couldn’t imagine my life without Luke in it.” I swallowed hard as I looked down at my hands as I ringed them on my lap. “Even when we were best friends, I knew there was something more to our relationship. The way he would look at me used to make my stomach just flutter.”
Lauren’s smile faded some and I knew she was thinking about Colt. I was positive he made her feel the same way. She just wouldn’t admit it.
“Then yesterday on the beach, he looked at me again and this time I saw something different.”
Five voices all whispered, “What was it?”
Smiling, I looked at Grace. “Love. Pure love.” I let out a small chuckle. “Finally, his head wasn’t arguing with his heart.”
“Did he tell you he loved you?” Grace asked.
I nodded my head. “On the beach. He told me he’s always loved me and only me.”
Lauren let out a dramatic sigh. “How romantic.”
Maegan shook her head. “Four times. My God.”
My cheeks burned with embarrassment. “Does it always stay this magical, Alex?”
Alex’s eyes lit up. “Believe it or not, it keeps getting better. If you think his touch does crazy things to you now, just wait. The more you’re together and learn each other, the more beautiful it becomes.”
We all sat there for a few moments in silence before Grace jumped up and said, “Okay, well now I feel like I need to go for a run. I’m outta here y’all.”